Published 5:30 am, Thursday, May 6, 2010

The new policy, which board members discussed Thursday, relates to the federal E-rate program, which allows school districts to apply for funds for Internet access, wiring and other technology upgrades.

Under a legal settlement with the federal government, which HISD Superintendent Terry Grier signed in March, an HISD board member now must abstain from voting on E-rate contracts if he or she has received more than $500 a year in campaign contributions from E-rate vendors.

Richard Patton, HISD's new E-rate compliance officer, said Thursday that he is proposing, in consultation with board president Greg Meyers, a stricter policy that prohibits board members from knowingly accepting any contributions from E-rate vendors.

“We want to show good faith in letting the government know that we take this as a serious matter,” Meyers said.

The only consequence listed in the policy for board members who decide to accept the donations anyway is that they cannot vote on E-rate contracts if their total donations from E-rate vendors exceed $500 a year.

Board members also can still accept contributions from the spouses and relatives of E-rate vendors under both the proposed policy and the federal settlement agreement, Patton explained in response to a question from Trustee Larry Marshall.

But Patton said in an interview after the board meeting that he would advise against accepting contributions at least from a vendor's spouse.

The federal investigation into HISD's E-rate program stemmed from a scandal in Dallas ISD that involved vendors who also did business in Houston and contributed to some HISD trustees.

According to campaign finance documents, Frankie Wong, a Houston-based technology vendor who was found guilty in 2008 of bribery and money laundering related to Dallas ISD, previously contributed at least $1,000 to HISD Trustee Diana Dávila and $2,500 to former Trustee Kevin Hoffman.

HISD Trustees Larry Marshall and Manuel Rodríguez Jr. also received donations from business associates of Wong, according to campaign reports and state records.

None of the HISD trustees has been accused of wrongdoing. HISD and the federal government have not released the names of those who were under suspicion, but Grier has said he didn't think there were any current district employees or trustees involved.

The U.S. Department of Justice characterized the allegations generally in a news release in March, saying HISD “provided false information to the E-Rate program and otherwise violated the program's requirements by engaging in non-competitive bidding practices.”

“The United States further alleged that school district officials received gratuities from technology vendors, including trips, meals and loans,” the release said.

Accepting such gifts is prohibited, and HISD's federal settlement agreement reinforces the rule.

The settlement also cost local taxpayers. HISD had to pay an $850,000 fine so it can start to apply for E-rate funding again. The district lost out on at least $82 million during the federal investigation.

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